Fall - Indiana Academy of Family Physicians

doctors. These projects will create
visible sources of pride in our
specialty and educate the public
about who we are, what we do, and
the traditions from which we come.
We’re family physicians. We’re
different. And we have a story to tell.
Would you join with me this year in
working to actively protect our
specialty at the state and federal
legislative levels? While fighting for
appropriate reimbursement and other
practice issues is a priority, we must
maintain public health issues that
enhance the health and quality of life
of our patients foremost on our
political agenda. In doing so, we will
not only engender respect with the
public and policy makers but also
maintain our credibility and integrity.
Join with me in working
collaboratively with our colleagues in
the medical community on important
health-related issues but always
maintaining our own strong separate
identity at the General Assembly.
Why? Because we’re family
physicians and we’re different, and
sometimes we see things differently.
Would you join with me this year in
continuing our commitment to
fighting tobacco use and exposure to
environmental tobacco smoke in our
state? Teach children about tobacco
through participating in our Tar Wars
program and fight for clean-air laws
in our communities. Tobacco use is
the greatest cause of preventable
illness and premature death among
our patients, and we should not
tolerate the fact that the General
Assembly gutted Indiana’s statewide
comprehensive tobacco prevention
and cessation program by reducing
its funding by $22 million a year. The
Academy will take a leadership
position in the medical community in
an effort to restore full funding for
this endeavor and to assist in the
formation in a statewide tobacco
control coalition to help assure
adequate tobacco control funding and
better plan for tobacco control
advocacy in the future. We should
lead in this regard because we’re
family physicians. We are compelled
to do so because it’s critical to the
health of our patients and our
communities, especially our children.
Finally, would you join with me in
helping those in need of medical care
in our communities who are without
resources, without public or private
health coverage? My father would
collect $5 a month from some of his
patients who were in financial
difficulties and owed him large bills.
Even though he knew at that rate
collecting it made no business sense,
what was more important was that
these patients and their families
preserved their sense of pride and
self-respect. During these
extraordinary harsh economic times,
would you make a special effort to
give your services to some of those
in your community in need without
an expectation of being paid? It’s the
right thing to do.
I was recently reminded of the
thought that we see the future by
Join with me this year in expressing your
passion for family medicine because we
have a fulfilling life and profession.
standing on the shoulders of the past.
Let’s proceed with the understanding
of the strengths of our specialty and
the inspiration and wisdom of our
founding fathers. The medical world
has changed radically in the last 25
years, and the family physician has
not been immune to these
developments. These are troubled,
uncertain times in medicine. The
only stability we have is each other.
Let us, this year, gather around and
support each other through our
Academy and show the world who
we are, what we believe in, and that
we are the specialty that holds a
central role in the American health
care system in the new millennium.
IAFP Calendar
IAFP MEETINGS
2003
Family Practice Club Dinner, 14th (Student)
District Meeting and Family Practice
Residency Exhibits
October 16
Indianapolis
Practice Management Conference
October 16 & 17
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Indianapolis
IAFP Board of Directors Meeting
October 19
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Indianapolis
2004
Family Practice Update
January 22 – 25
Downtown Adam’s Mark Hotel, Indianapolis
IAFP Board of Directors Meeting
January 25
Downtown Adam’s Mark Hotel, Indianapolis
Faculty Development Workshop
March 3
Airport Holiday Inn, Indianapolis
Residents Day and Research Forum
March 3
Airport Holiday Inn, Indianapolis
IAFP Annual Scientific Assembly
July 21 – 25
French Lick Springs Resort, French Lick
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